standards and guidelines for communication sites - Radio And ...

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNICATION SITES FIRE PROTECTION/SAFETY
3.12.6.2 AUTOMATIC ALARMS
Automatic alarms or indicators (or both) indicate the operation of the system, hazards to occupants, or
failure of any supervised device. The type (audible or visual), number, and location of these devices
shall be such that their purpose is satisfactorily accomplished. As a minimum, the fire alarm system
shall give an initial warning signal for evacuation of occupants and for confirmation of a fire condition.
A secondary alarm system shall sound, indicating the automatic discharge of a fire-extinguishing agent.
The system shall have a time delay function between the two warning signals which can be adjusted to
provide adequate time for evacuation or abort procedures.
3.12.6.3 SITE ALARM SWITCH FORM
Site alarms are defined as any action, reaction, or determinations associated with diagnostics, security,
or emergency. All equipment providing alarms will send alarms from the equipment utilizing drycontact
closures. The dry contact closures will conform to Form-C configuration, providing Common,
Normally-Open, and Normally-Closed contacts. The outputs will not be referenced to either ground or
any voltage potential.
3.12.6.4 AUTOMATIC SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS
Automatic suppression systems automatically discharge fire-extinguishing agents when a fire condition
is detected. With use of control panels, directional valves and flow control equipment, these systems can
be used to protect against one or more hazards or groups of hazards. Where two or more hazards may be
simultaneously involved in the fire by reason of proximity, both hazards shall be protected with
separate individual systems and the combination arranged to operate simultaneously. The other option is
that they could be protected with a single system that shall be sized and arranged to simultaneously
discharge on all potentially involved hazards that have indicated an alarm condition. A qualified fire
protection engineer shall be consulted when designing automatic extinguishing systems.
If an overhead sprinkler system is used, the “dry pipe” type shall be used. Upon detection of a fire
condition, this type of system removes source power to the room and then opens a master valve to fill
the overhead sprinklers. These systems sometimes use a primary suppressor such as CO2, releasing
before the sprinkler system is activated. Dry pipe systems can have enough of a delay so that a manual
reset can be provided, if allowable. This system is preferable to a “wet” type system, which has the
chance of water leakage and resultant equipment damage, and can possibly use rancid water that has
been stored in overhead pipes for long periods.
If power connections are made beneath raised floors, waterproof electrical receptacles and connections
shall be used in all types of installations.
3.12.7 WARNING SIGNS
Appropriate warning signs shall be affixed outside of areas where concentrations of extinguishing gases
can accumulate. This should not be limited to just protected spaces but in the adjacent areas where the
gases could migrate or leak (such as the storage room for the gas containers, adjacent rooms and
hallways). There shall be a warning sign posted at the entrance to the protected area and inside the
protected space.
68P81089E50-B 9/1/05 3-27